What’s SHOOT THE MESSENGER?

Well, AICN COMICS: SHOOT THE MESSENGER is your weekly one stop shop for comic book -EWS. What’s comic book –EWS? Well, it’s our hodge podge of everything not reviews here at AICN Comics. Sure you can find out the @$$Holes’ critical opinions of your favorite books every Wednesday at AICN Comics. But here, you’ll find special reports such as previews, interviews, special features, and occasionally news gathered here from our online brethren at Newsarama, CBR, Wizard, etc. Sure those guys are the best at reporting news as it breaks. Click on the links for the original stories. This column cuts the crap to run down all the vital information for those of you who don’t follow it as it comes in, and serves it all up with that special ingredient of @$$y goodness.

Hey folks, Ambush Bug here with an early look at the upcoming LEPRECHAUN #1 comic coming soon from Blue Water Comics, a publisher that’s been making a lot of “waves” lately and one worth taking a look at. This week’s Comic Book Evolution features a “commentary track” to a few pages from issue one by the artist of the series Kris Carter. Let’s hear what Kris has to say about these pages in their early stages from LEPRECHAUN #1.

For this article I was asked to pick my 6 favorite pages from issue 1 of LEPRECHAUN so we could show what goes into a comic from concept to pencils to print. It took me a little while for me to choose between my children. Eventually I weeded out the red headed ones and finally decided on a 5 page flashback sequence.
In this particular scene it is the first violence we see perpetrated by the titular character, The Leprechaun. In contrast to the rest of this issue we see a little of the movie LEPRECHAUN in these pages. That evil, mischievous little imp shows up to get a little revenge for having his gold stolen.Even at the layout stage I envisioned this scene darker than the rest of the issue up to this point. I tried to do this with shadows and detail. A lot of the detail in this scene is there to add depth and a claustrophobic effect for the characters. I also tried to play with the angles of the panels to show the off kilter tone of what is to come.

Now, the Leprechaun that you might be familiar with from the cheese-tastic movies of the 80'-90's is not the same little scamp we have running around this book. He is a little more vicious, mobile, and motivated. You would never have seen Warwick Davis jumping on desks swing a sword with any amount of fluidity. This is definitely where the comic have the edge over movies. In film there is a general limitation of the actor’s athleticism versus what we can make a character do in comics. Where wires and stunt doubles would be necessary for this scene in a movie. I can draw it rather easily, with no extra cost to budget.

You will notice that with this first issue I kept very close to the layouts that I had approved by the editor. This is the first time I have worked with Darren and Blue Water so I tried to make sure there were no surprises. I also wanted to make sure that everyone was comfortable with what I saw in my head versus the script. Thankfully everyone is happy with what I am doing. Or so they tell me.

With the climax of this scene we see Dr. Coindealer(still hate that name) being made to literally pay with his flesh for his greed and avarice. We get to see as his body is transformed into British pound notes to pay for his sins against the Leprechaun. Drawing the hundreds of the bills wasn't that hard but having to Photoshop them in, I am sure, was a nightmare. Sorry Tom! That is where the colorist comes in to add what is needed in the scene. From the notes to the paintings, to various posters and computer screens I asked a lot of the colorist in this issue. Penciling it wouldn't have had the same effect as dropping in real representations of the items. If you have the technology to make the work better, use it.

Well...I don't know what else to say. I tried to stay very faithful to the script with this issue, and especially with this scene. I really dig the way it came out. I am rarely happy with my own work but I look back on this sequence two issues later and I am still pleased with what I did. I hope everyone out there checks out the book and gives us the benefit of the doubt, and stays tuned in for the whole series. I would be castrated if I gave anything away, but this series gets a whole hell of a lot more brutal, and outdoes the horror of the original films in every way. When I get to draw the over the top violence and evil of the Leprechaun, all I can do is smile :)
Kris Carter
carterkris@yahoo.com
http://kristecarter.blogspot.com/http://serendipityartsales.net

This series looks to be a lot of fun. Thanks Kris and Blue Water for this early look at LEPRECHAUN. Be sure to check it out when it hits the stands in May.

It’s Bug back again with another twirl on the Spinner Rack to the Future, shall we? This week we’ve got a hearty handful of previews for y’all to enjoy. First up is a preview to DARK AVENGERS #2. Norman Osbourne and his villains in disguise look to be tussling with Doc Doom soon. That art by Deodato makes my drool glands work overtime. Check out these preview pages.

Look for DARK AVENGERS #2 evilling up the shelves on Wednesday.

Next we’ve got a preview book from Radical for the upcoming year. These pages were previously only available at the New York Comic Con, but we’ve got them here to share with all of you. Take a look at what Radical has in store for all of you in the coming months.

Looks like it’s going to be a good year for Radical. Look for their beautiful and imaginative titles in the upcoming months.

Sure the movie stunk, but PUNISHER MAX has been good from issue one and even though Ennis left a few issues ago, it still packs a punch. Here’s a preview of issue #67.

I like to make sounds like BRAKKA-LAKKA! and SPLITCH! while I read PUNISHER MAX. Is that weird? Look for PUNISHER MAX #67 this Wednesday.

From the guy who wrote ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS and the dude who draws WORMWOOD: GENTLEMAN CORPSE, IDW brings you GROOM LAKE; a miniseries about alien abduction like no other. Chris Ryall and Ben Templesmith are two talented guys and I can’t wait to dig my teeth into this miniseries. Check out this sneak peek.

Look for GROOM LAKE from IDW on March 18th. This looks to be one damn cool book.

Finally we have a preview to one of my favorite books Marvel is putting out these days, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. Abnett and Lanning kick @$$ and take names with their band of space misfits on a monthly basis. Check out what I’m talking about below.

It’s got Groot, Rocket Raccoon, and Jack Flag. Why aren’t you buying this book? Check out GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY this Wednesday.

his article on superheroes is fucking retarded. Especially coming from a guy who looks like a fat, dirty version of serpico. This is the dude who writes deep articles on every episode of Star Trek. Maybe if he wasn't such an ugly fat cunt he'd realize the best superhero comics came out this decade and that 'awful' tag just doesn't apply. Captain America, Immortal Iron Fist, Daredevil, Green Lantern. They all came out this decade. And the way he sucks Edgar Wright's dick, just shows what a boring fuck he is, this Scott Pilgram love. Nobody who isn't a fat cunt would say Scott Pilgram is better than Brubaker's Captain America or Johns' Green Lantern. Fat cunts everywhere.

You know what, I enjoyed the Kris Carter page notes, it's like a DVD commentary for comic books. That being said, Leprechaun? Are there 7 people in the world clamoring for more stories of the Leprechaun? And this is coming from a guy that bought, Hellraiser, Nightbreed, Hellraiser vs Nightbreed, Leatherface, Jason and Chuckie comics. You seem like cool dude, Kris but come on, I guess you couldn't get the license for the Wishmaster.

I can't read anything drawn by that guy. Does he always have to make everything so monochromatic. Everything is always framed so flat as well. His art just irritates the shit out of me. To the point I traded my copy of the Fell trade paperback because I couldn't stand reading it.

and you just can't get too upset at guys like that. He’s just that guy, the one so unhappy with their nerd status, so ruled by their own inferiority complex and desperate wish to appear cool to the popular table at lunch, that they have to try to elevate their stupid nerdy pursuit (comics, movies, TV shows, action figures, whatever.) into some kind of art. They have to try to give it some kind of relevance, to make it seem as if they’re doing something great, instead of just sitting on their ass talking about nonsense and superfluous crap. They’re the type of people that say shit like: <br><br>”I only read Indie Comics”<br><br>or<br><br>”I only watch foreign films.”<br><br>or<br><br>”I don’t watch TV, only DVDs.”<br><br> As if any of that shit is any less or more of a waste of time than any of the other crap. Its all just pop culture.<br><br>I just feel sorry for those guys, what’s wrong with liking what you like? Nothing. Its too bad they can’t jut be cool with themselves. Most of the time these guys are just small time failures anyway, so who cares what they “rant” about in their dark little corner of the internet? In the end, there’s nothing sadder than a geek self-loather, because much like a closeted homosexual… everyone else can already tell, buddy, you’re not fooling anybody so you might as well just come out.<br><br>On a side note... does CHUD creep anyone else out? That place just has this weird vibe.

I really do.
<p>Think about movies for a second - everyone goes nuts over somebody who suddenly "changes" the way movies are made but after his third or fourth movie he is out of steam. Goddard and QT seem to fall under that category.
<p> And then there is some filmmaker who goes out there and makes a damn good movie every time, and about 20-30 years later people begin to truly appreciate him. Guys like Sydney Lumet or Don Siegel fall into that category. <p>
I guess I always preferred the journeyman to the groundbreaking artist. I mean Miller did some great things and got a lot of recognition, but Roger Stern was working at the same period and while he is never mentioned in the same category as Miller I think he has a higher number of quality things he turned out. <p>
Just my two cents.

I noticed that Joshua Middleton has a terrific cover for Supergirl #38. It's really beautiful artwork.<br><br>
By contrast Supermans Reign #12 has a cover by Dan Jurgens that is a prime example of the over-worked, over-lined indecipherable junk that graces so many comic covers.<br><br>I'm only pointing this out because I don't give two cents about Leprechauns.

why? I think it boils down to the simplest fact which some comic book dude told me "they just write good stories" and that's true, they let the strength of the comic be the story itself and then use the medium to enhance that story. You couldn't take such convoluted information and turn it into a good movie, but Johns did it for Sinestro Corps War. He took all the convoluted stories and turned them into strengths, the strength of Sinestro Corps War is in the backstory. It wouldn't feel the same without the baggage of Parallax or Superboy Prime, it just wouldn't be as great a story.

...but I would actually buy a WISHMASTER comic. Wouldn't be the same without Divoff's performance, but...I'd just like to see how it would be done.
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As for LEPRECHAUN...might make a nice curiosity.

What exactly did Miller and Moore do that was so "innovating" besides just telling a complex and "adult" story? Wouldn't Image comics actually be the last "true" innovators by their forcing of the rest of the industry to use computer coloring and better paper stock?

"Characters sit around talking at a coffee-shop, summarizing a plot with a really weak ending."<br><br>Ah... thats an over-simplification. The characters aren't just sitting around, see, one group usually sits in the booth by the window, but one day they arrive to find another group at their table AND having the same food that the first group usually does. <br><br>So, anyway, then the first group goes and very politely asks the first group to leave their table. The second claims that the first group is mistaken, that this is actually THEIR table, until the first group points out that the second group usually sits in the other booth. <br><br>Well, then there are some awkward apologies and every one gets back in their correct booths and goes their separate ways.<br><br>CIVIL INVASION! Its 100% pure tension!

"And so, then, like I was saying, Doc Ock shows up, out of nowhere--"<p>"Oh, man."<p>"Yeah."<p>"Wow."<p>"I know."<p>"No, really, I mean-- wow."<p>"Right. So Ock shows up, and it's like-- here's the thing --I feel, and this feeling, it's not-- it's just like THERE. You know? And the feeling, it makes me FEEL something. And it-- this is the important part, the most important part --I realize, Haven't I done things to make this happen? Isn't this partly my fault?"<p>"Wow."<p>"Yeah."<p>"So then what?"<p>"Well, Spider-man showed up. Or someone who looked like him. They fought. Anyway, Ock got the corner booth."<p>"The one you wanted."<p>"Yes."<p>"Wow."<p>"I know."<p>"Hm."<p>copyright 2009, Brian Michael Bendis<p>...next year 'House of Reign'!

I don't know but why is Bendis such a big deal. His comics can be read in 5 minutes and there isn't any depth to the stories. I really prefer to read Millar's Ultimates or Wanted. Bendis instead writes stuff only 12 year old maybe find interesting. I don't know but I think his time will end... soon.